CHAPTER 19. DINNER

The atmosphere of a cold, dark cloudy night without stars, gives a touch of silence that envelops the balcony of Sandra's pink room. Her long hair was loose, waving in the strong wind. It seems that tonight will be rain or storm like today's weather forecast.

Sandra stood on the balcony of the room hugging herself, feeling her white skin touched by the cold. However, contrary to her feelings, she felt the heat rising from within her radiating to her face until it caused a red tinge. This happened every time she remembered the embarrassing incident that had occurred between her and Diego, this afternoon.

"What a disgrace!" she hissed, hitting the metal bars of the balcony, venting her frustration. She was at a loss as to how to behave when confronted by Diego. Her embarrassment was so great that she didn't dare leave her room, even if it was just to fill her rumbling stomach. Not to mention she had to try hard to restrain himself while at her father's house, so as not to claw at Sarah and Alex's faces who were always showing affection in front of him, testing her patience which was only as thin as a tissue divided by seven.

Sandra let out a long sigh with her eyes glancing to her left, the balcony of the next room, which was Diego's current room. Sandra frowned as she realized that the room had been dark with no lighting.

"Maybe he doesn't like the light that much?" She wondered. While her mind was racing, the sound of a knock on the door startled her. Suddenly, her body overreacted, trembling with heart palpitations. For some reason, ever since that frightening terror appeared, she turned into an introvert towards the people around him.

"Who?" shouted Sandra as she slowly approached the door. She did not immediately unlock the door but stood behind the door of the room while waiting for the person's answer.

"It's me, Miss," said a woman who was one of the servants in the house.

"What's wrong?" asked Sandra.

The servant was sent by Sandra's father, to pick up his daughter, to have dinner together. Suddenly Sandra clenched her hands, ignited by anger. She thought this time her father had made the wrong decision. So she thought to ignore the order.

"I'm not hungry. Go away!" Sandra replied a little curtly. The waiter left after getting an answer from his employer's daughter.

It didn't take long, as soon as the waiter left, Sandra's cell phone rang. Sandra looked sullen knowing that the caller was her father. "What do you want Dad to call me? He thought I would follow his orders this time. Don't expect it!" she scolded before answering her father's phone call.

Sandra was now in the dining room with the rest of the family. The woman sat down with a grumpy face and seemed uninterested in eating the delicious dishes served at the dining table. While across from the woman, there are Sarah and Alex who do not stop joking.

"Where's your friend?" Why don't you invite him to dinner with us?" asked James about Diego. Instantly a red tinge appeared on Sandra's face, the woman became misbehaving and unconsciously answered nervously.

"Just have the waiter ... call him."

"Is there something going on between you guys? You looked very uncomfortable when I asked about your whereabouts." Sarah interrupted with an innocent look on her face. Sandra tilted her head and smiled sarcastically at her younger sister. "You seem to be very interested in my business. Or maybe, you are also interested in my friend?"

"Interested in him. Even Alex is much better looking than your friend. He looks more like a bum."

"Watch your language, Sarah! He's my guest in this house," James scolded, silencing his youngest daughter's caustic remark.

"But, the maid said your friend wasn't in his room." Suddenly Sandra turned her face to the side while looking at her father with a confused face. "He's not in his room?"

"Yes, the maid checked, and the room was empty," James explained.

Sandra frowned, thinking of the possibility that Diego had left quietly, after getting a few slaps on the face, because of the incident. Now Sandra thought about her fate without Diego.

"Well, since you've all gathered. Let's eat first!" said James with a serious look on his face, then continued his speech.

"Before I announce something very important."

Sandra pushed her hair back, revealing a disappointed look. She wanted to go find Diego's whereabouts. To see for herself if he was gone.

"Sorry, Dad. I'm on a diet, so I can't have dinner with you. Moreover, I've lost my appetite from the first time I saw these two crazy people!" Sandra was ready to get up from her seat but was prevented by James.

The middle-aged man let out a long sigh with a stern look at his eldest daughter. "You're too skinny to diet. Come on, eat up! We'll finish everything after dinner. Make things easier."

Sandra was forced to sit back where she was, at the same table as Sarah and Alex. However, Sandra was constantly thinking about Diego. Her heart was very restless, and at the same time afraid of threats that could come at any time.

Seeing Sandra's state of not focusing on her food, Sarah took the opportunity to disturb her sister's peace. "I heard that man helped you. Very surprising."

Sandra did not respond to Sarah's words, choosing to remain silent staring at her dinner. But Sarah didn't stop there. She continued her remarks with inappropriate sentences until Sandra's patience ran out.

"What are you doing!" Sarah screamed with a wet face splashed with drinking water from Sandra's glass. Alex also wiped his new wife's face with his handkerchief. The man looked unhappy with Sandra's actions towards his wife.

"Can't you be nice during this dinner? We don't want to be at the same table with you either," Alex scolded.

"I've done better by her. I was originally planning to throw this plate in that bitch's face!" Alex's face flushed, and the man widened his steps towards Sandra who looked relaxed continuing her meal.

"You have no right to say bad things about Sarah! You'd better shut your mouth before I ....."

Then the sound of a table banging startled the three people who were arguing, followed by James' loud voice.

"Stop!" James' blue eyes glared at the three in turn. "I just want to eat this food in peace. Can you three please respect me as your parent!"

They fell silent, but not with what happened next. There was a loud explosion from the back garden. It happened three times. The whole family ran towards the direction the sound came from. "What was that noise?" said Sandra with a bad feeling, thinking that something bad was going to happen.

Not only were the four of them curious about the sound of the explosions, but several servants had also gathered at the scene. When they arrived in the back garden, everything seemed fine, and there were no signs of explosion marks.

They were even more astonished and continued to explore the back garden, which was an expanse of flower gardens and ornamental trees.

"We didn't find anything, sir. Everything is safe," One of the guards came to report to James.

"Then you can all go back to your original places. Keep it tight ...." James stopped his conversation. The middle-aged man's face tightened with a glare at the guard, who suddenly grabbed him by the neck. the young man seemed to lose control of himself and acted like a wild animal.